Manhole: Episode 16 (Final)

Well, we made it. We’ve traveled through time, altered the past and
future, and mixed up countless relationships to the point where I’m now
convinced that I will always get a slight headache every time I see a
manhole. Still, while I may not understand most of the whys or hows
behind this adventure, I’ll miss the elusive charm of our main
characters and the family they created. We have reached the final hour,
and I’m both relieved and exhausted as we take our last jaunt through
the ever-lovin’ manhole, all in the hopes that Pil will finally get the girl.

FINAL EPISODE RECAPPil tracks Soo-jin and Jae-hyun to the lake house and peers in
through the window to see them at the table. When Soo-jin spies Pil,
Jae-hyun notices her gaze and turns to look, but Soo-jin pulls him back
just in time to distract him and allow Pil to duck away.Playing along with Jae-hyun’s crazy, Soo-jin tells him to wash up
first while she gets changed for bed. Except the familiar suggestion
reminds him of how she ran away the last time she told him to take a
shower, and he grabs her arm.Jae-hyun yanks Soo-jin back and warns her not to try and escape from
him again, warning, “I’ll find you no matter where you are.” Soo-jin
nods mutely, and he relaxes.A car alarm suddenly sounds, and Jae-hyun goes out to investigate.
Sure enough it’s his car, and as he goes to turn it off, Pil slips
unnoticed into the lake house. (Ah, clever boy.) Pil quickly gathers
Soo-jin and the two of them race out the front door, but they aren’t
fast enough, and Jae-hyun spots the pair as they flee.As Soo-jin and Pil make it to the back lawn, Jae-hyun sneaks up on
them from behind the house, holding a long piece of wood. Soo-jin sees
her husband raise the bat to attack and leaps to cover Pil with her
body, taking the blow herself and falling unconscious.Pil recovers first and starts punching Jae-hyun. Jae-hyun quickly
starts fighting back, and the two men roll around the backyard as they
trade blows. Pil manages to catch Jae-hyun’s arm and judo-flips him to
the ground, then gives him three solid kicks to the face. (Heh. Karma,
bitch.) While Jae-hyun flounders around, Pil runs over to check on the
unconscious Soo-jin. But Jae-hyun recovers quickly and pulls a knife
from his waistband.While Pil continues to hover over Soo-jin, Jae-hyun looms up behind and stabs Pil right in the stomach.There’s a moment of silence, then Jae-hyun rips the knife out,
causing Pil to gasp in pain. Looking stunned by his own actions,
Jae-hyun drops the bloody weapon and sprints to his car, driving away
while Pil crumples to the ground.Soo-jin wakes up just as Pil falls, and she pulls his head onto her
lap as she stares in shock at the blood spreading over his shirt.
Pressing her hand to the wound, Soo-jin calls out to Pil, telling him to
open his eyes.Far away from the blood and mayhem, Pil’s police sunbae is still
calling Pil’s phone after Pil hung up on him. Another officer informs
Sunbae that Jae-hyun’s phone is back on, and there’s a police car
heading to him now.Returning to our life-or-death couple, Pil gasps out that he’s fine
and asks where Jae-hyun went. Soo-jin assures him that he drove away and
digs Pil’s phone out of his pocket to call an ambulance. Before she
can, Sunbae calls Pil yet again and Soo-jin answers, weeping.Sunbae immediately starts asking about Pil and Jae-hyun’s
whereabouts, and Soo-jin hiccups out that Jae-hyun stabbed Pil and ran
off. Taken aback, Sunbae promises to send an ambulance immediately, then
hangs up to call the officers tracking Jae-hyun, informing them that
he’s on the run.As luck would have it, Jae-hyun drives past two squad cars just as
they get Sunbae’s call. Recognizing the license plate, the police give
chase. Back at the lake house, Soo-jin tells Pil that help is coming and
urges him hold on, but Pil just asks if she was hurt at all. Soo-jin
says that she’s fine and apologizes for leading him here with her phone,
crying that she wanted to stop seeing him because he always gets hurt.Gasping now, Pil replies, “If I couldn’t save you, I would’ve
resented myself for the rest of my life.” He adds that that would’ve
hurt far more.Jae-hyun continues to lead the police on a merry chase, until a wrong
turn leads him to a dead end. He tries to escape on foot, but four
officers pounce on him, shoving him to the ground and cuffing their
elusive culprit. Back to the tragic couple, Pil murmurs that while traveling through
time, he first thought that all he needed was her. Then he came to
realize, “When you smile, I can smile. When you’re happy, I’m happy. So
you have to be happy. That way I can be happy. All right?” (*Sniff*)Soo-jin snaps at him for talking like this is the end and begs him to
stay with her. Pil’s breath is short as he swears, “Even if I die,
don’t think that I’m not with you. Even when you didn’t remember, I was
always by your side. Whatever you do, wherever you are, I will always be
by your side.”Sobbing now, Soo-jin says she can’t let him go. Pil slowly reaches up
a bloody hand and brushes her cheek, whispering that he can’t see her
face anymore. His eyes closing, Pil breathes out, “Soo-jin, I have to
see you.”Pil’s arm lowers, and his hand falls to the ground with awful finality. Soo-jin trembles at his still form and cries out for him to open his
eyes. An ambulance pulls into the driveway, and Soo-jin reaches out to
hold Pil’s hand, thinking, “Pil, I love you.”Soo-jin bows her head over Pil, but suddenly, her body starts fading.
(Omo!) Soo-jin disappears completely, leaving Pil (dead or alive?) on
the grass.And… we’re back?! It’s 2017 on Soo-jin’s wedding day, and we zoom in on Soo-jin in her wedding dress, getting her makeup done.Soo-jin jerks upright, gasping, while Jung-ae and Dal-soo tease her
for falling asleep. Confused, Soo-jin looks around and asks Jung-ae
what’s going on. When Jung-ae answers that she’s getting her bridal
makeup done, she realizes that she’s gone back to her wedding.Popping up out of the chair Soo-jin runs out of the room, yelling that she has to find Pil.At Pil’s house, Mom and Dad are grouching about having to go to
Soo-jin’s wedding, when Soo-jin bursts in in her full wedding regalia,
looking for Pil. Mom answers that Pil isn’t home, but Soo-jin runs up
to his empty room to make sure. Promising to explain later, Soo-jin races back out, leaving Mom and
Dad wondering why she’s looking for their son instead of walking down
the aisle.Woah. Okay, so now we jump through time again to 2018, where Pil lies
unconscious (but alive!) in a hospital bed. He dreams about the manhole
tunnel and hears Soo-jin’s voice reaching out from 2017 as she runs
around the neighborhood in her wedding dress, searching for Pil and
begging him to appear.Pil opens his eyes, and the screen splits to show Soo-jin running in
2017 and Pil getting up out of the hospital bed in 2018. Looking pretty
spry for someone recently stabbed, Pil yanks out needles and shakes off
confused nurses before running out of the hospital.In their different timelines, both Pil and Soo-jin jog through the
manhole tunnel, Soo-jin during the day, and Pil at night. They come to a
stop at the manhole and think:

Soo-jin: “Pil. You’re also looking for me, right?” Pil: “I told you that I’d find you wherever you are. That I’d always be by your side.” Soo-jin: “Right, I can feel you. We’re in different times, but we’re still together. We’re looking at the same thing.” Pil: “Nothing can split us apart. I’ll go to you by any means. Just wait a little.”

In her time, Soo-jin nods as though she can hear him, and both of
them slowly reach their hands into the space in front of them, closing
their eyes like they can feel one another. Above Pil, the streetlight
starts to flicker, and when the clock strikes midnight, he fades away.Jung-ae and Dal-soo finally catch up with Soo-jin, bringing Gu-gil
along with them. Shaken out of her space time continuum moment, Soo-jin
states that she has to find Pil, but the others snap at her that this
isn’t the time since she’s late for her wedding, and they drag her away
to her impending nuptials.Meanwhile, in Jin-sook’s rooftop apartment, Pil awakens in 2017 to
find himself tied to a chair. He starts looking around, trying to figure
out what’s going on, when Jin-sook strolls in. Remembering the last
time he awoke tied up (in the juice stand), Pil tentatively asks if he
and Jin-sook got married again. Heh.Thankfully, Jin-sook just calls him crazy and yells that this is to
keep him from ruining Soo-jin’s wedding. Pil stills to hear that and
wonders if Soo-jin didn’t time travel with him, lamenting that he came
back alone again.Seok-tae arrives at the rooftop apartment and Pil eagerly looks to
his friend to untie him, but Seok-tae just asks Jin-sook if she tied the
rope correctly. Pffft.Seok-tae is firmly on Jin-sook’s side, agreeing that he needs to stay
put for Soo-jin’s wedding, but Pil appeals to him, saying that he has
to be there were the most important day of Soo-jin’s life. Seok-tae
starts wavering and turns sad eyes on Jin-sook, only she just snaps that
they can’t trust him and the two depart, leaving Pil tied up.At the wedding hall, Jae-hyun paces while Soo-jin’s parents fret over
their absentee daughter, but then Jung-ae and her boys arrive with the
wayward bride.Seeing Jae-hyun, Soo-jin freezes, remembering all the terrible things
he’s done/will do. He walks up to her all smiles and sweetness, but
Soo-jin stares at him, horrified. Soo-jin’s mom just laughs that she’s
nervous, and then a staff member calls that the wedding is about to
start.In the rooftop apartment, Pil yanks at his restraints, finally
managing to fall to the side and wiggle out of the ropes. He sprints of
the apartment and is once again running through the streets to find
Soo-jin. (Seriously, how much of this show has Pil spent running?)Pil better pick up the pace though, as the wedding has already
started, and Soo-jin is being called to make her entrance. She slowly
starts inching down the aisle, looking like she’s walking to the gallows
rather than the altar. Downstairs, Pil dashes through the front doors and makes for the
wedding hall. However, it seems this is the fastest wedding ever, as
we’ve already reached the “Do you take” portion. Jae-hyun eagerly shouts
out his “I do,” but when it comes to Soo-jin’s turn, she just stands
there.As silence builds, everyone starts shifting around uncomfortably as
Jae-hyun looks questioningly at his bride. Then, here to save the day,
Pil runs into the hall and calls out Soo-jin’s name. (Aw yeah!)Soo-jin (and everyone else) whips around to see Pil standing in the
aisle, panting. Soo-jin looks instantly relieved, and Pil gives his best
ever puppy eyes as they gaze at one another, each hoping that the other
remembers.Everyone gawks at the interruption, and the officiate repeats his
question, pushing Soo-jin to accept Jae-hyun as her husband. Her eyes
never leaving Pil, Soo-jin answers, loud and strong, “No. I can’t marry
this guy.”The room erupts with twitters, and Soo-jin’s parents look like
they’re having twin heart attacks. Soo-jin coldly warns Jae-hyun to
never come near her again, then delivers a swift kick to his shins.
Nice.As Jae-hyun writhes, Soo-jin drops her bouquet and runs to Pil. He
asks if she went through the manhole too, and she nods happily. Soo-jin
grouches a bit at him for making her worry, but Pil just smiles and
apologizes for being so late. Smiling back, Soo-jin holds out her hand
and tells him, “Let’s go.” Pil takes Soo-jin’s hand and, in front of all their gaping friends
and family, the happy couple runs away from the wedding, both of them
beaming.Pil and Soo-jin escape to their lookout spot, and both of them can’t
seem to stop smiling. Soo-jin turns serious when she asks if his stab
wound is all right, but Pil chirps back that he’s all better, calling it
a benefit of time travel. Relieved, Soo-jin hugs Pil and asks that they never be separated
again. Hugging her back, Pil answers that no matter where or when they
are, he’ll always be there. He draws back, and they stare at each other
for a moment. Then, Pil reaches up and gently holds Soo-jin’s head,
pulling her in for a sweet kiss.…And they keep kissing. (Damn, I think my knees just went a little
weak.) The two slowly pull apart and smile at one another, a brilliant
sunset lighting up their happy faces.Then, we cut to one month later. It’s nighttime at Soo-jin’s house,
and she lies in bed, checking her phone and looking worried. She glances
at a string tied to her wrist, then we follow the string to where it
runs all the way into Pil’s room, where the other end is knotted around
Pil’s wrist. Pil paces nervously, glancing at the clock, which reads twenty
minutes until midnight. Pil calls out to see if Soo-jin is still there,
and Soo-jin jumps up to reassure him that she wasn’t summoned by the
manhole. Unable to take the stress, Pil climbs over the balcony into
Soo-jin’s room and hops straight into her bed.Soo-jin whisper-yells at him, but Pil insists, “If we get summoned,
we have to go together!” Then he tugs her down into the bed with him.
Before Soo-jin can give formal protest, she’s tucked in bed with Pil and
holding his hand. She relents in the face of his happy face, but
insists that it’s only until midnight. Pil takes what he can get and cuddles closer, grinning when he hears
Soo-jin’s heart beating fast. He brings up his phone, and they both pale
to see that it’s 11:59 p.m. Soo-jin clenches her eyes shut as Pil
counts down… but nothing happens. Soo-jin sighs that they made it
through another midnight, and Pil cheekily suggests that he stay the
night anyway.Soo-jin’s eyes go wide, but then her mom’s voice calls out, and the
two spring apart like guilty teenagers. Pil hides on the floor beneath
the comforter while Soo-jin jumps up and manages to cajole Mom out of
the room. The coast clear, Pil pops his head out of the blankets and
calls the whole situation “thrilling.” Soo-jin, however, is less than
thrilled and starts whacking him with a pillow. Hee.The next morning, Soo-jin’s mom moans and groans about Soo-jin
running out on her wedding and demands to know how she can keep dating
Pil when he doesn’t have a job.Suddenly, Pil’s voice carries down to them from his room, where he’s
jumping around and yelling that he got accepted. Pil runs downstairs,
barely pausing to tell his parents that he passed before continuing over
to Soo-jin’s house. Yelling that he got into the police academy, Pil scoops Soo-jin up
and spins her around… right in front of her parents. Dad gives an
“ahem,” and the giggling couple pause their revelry for Pil to
practically shove the phone results in Mom’s face. Pil’s parents come over and hug him, cheering to finally have a
successful son. Soo-jin’s parents hold the stink eye for another moment
before congratulating Pil and claiming that they always knew he’d be successful. (Sure…) Having also passed the civil service exam, Seok-tae packs up his
study cubicle when he gets a call from his father and heads to a café.
Except, when he arrives, it’s to find that he’s been set up on a blind
date. They sit down, and the woman seems nice enough, but Seok-tae
clearly isn’t into it.He just starts to muster up the courage to tell her that he already
has someone he likes, when he spies Jin-sook sitting in that very café.
He tries to hide his face, but Jin-sook sees him and heads over. Seok-tae starts to babble that this isn’t what it looks like, except
his date comes right out saying that they’re on a blind date. Seok-tae
looks absolutely terrified, but Jin-sook merely apologizes for
interrupting, then strolls out. With a quick apology of his own,
Seok-tae ditches his date and runs after her.Returning to her rooftop, Jin-sook scoffs that Seok-tae had claimed
he’d only like her for his whole life, but then Seok-tae bounds up and
starts explaining that he honestly didn’t know about it. Jin-sook tells
him it doesn’t matter to her and turns to leave, but Seok-tae has had
enough. He grabs her arm and asks once and for all if she’s ever thought
of him as a man (as in, romantically).Jin-sook hedges, but at Seok-tae’s insistence, she answers that
there’s a slight possibility. Then she yanks her arm away and retreats
inside, leaving Seok-tae grinning cutely.Dal-soo is playing guitar at his DVD store when Jung-ae runs in with
the news that Pil passed his exam. Jung-ae spies a wedding invitation
for one of Dal-soo’s friends and she asks if he will get married now
that all of his friends are having weddings. Serious, Dal-soo asks if she thinks that marriage is the endgame for
love, and Jung-ae answers that it is, since it means they’ll always stay
together. Dal-soo points out that two people don’t have to get married
to be together, arguing that marriage isn’t some kind of magic solution.
Dal-soo takes Jung-ae’s hands and promises that for as long as she
wants him, he will always stay with her. It’s enough for Jung-ae, and
the two hug.In a distinctly gloomier setting, a rundown Jae-hyun is with his
psychiatrist. Looking dead inside, Jae-hyun admits that the medication
is helping the mood swings. The session is interrupted when Young-joo
enters the office, and Jae-hyun spins around at her voice. With a
Cheshire smile, she holds her hand out to him, and he considers it. Back at the manhole, the streetlight shines brightly as Pil and
Soo-jin run up. At one minute to midnight, the two clasp hands and close
their eyes, cringing against any potential rainbow lights. But midnight
once again comes and goes with not even a burp from the manhole.They both sigh in relief, then Pil laments that he can’t live with
the constant worrying. Soo-jin stomps on the manhole and wonders if they
should just block it up, but Pil answers that he has a better idea. Reaching into his pocket, Pil lowers to one knee and pulls out a ring
box. Opening the box to reveal a diamond ring, Pil asks Soo-jin to let
him always stay by her side, no matter what time or place they’re in.
(Awww!)Soo-jin looks moved for a moment, then yanks him up and tells him to
be “specific, clear, and precise” so she can understand. She starts to
rant that she needs fours words, or even just three, but Pil cuts her
off: “I love you.” He says it quickly the first time to get it passed his nerves, then
repeats it again, slower. Soo-jin is shocked into silence, so Pil adds
on the four words she wanted, “Will you marry me?”Stunned that he actually said it, Soo-jin holds out her hand and
jokingly tells him to put the ring on her finger before she changes her
mind. Pil returns to one knee, sliding the engagement ring onto the
finger of the woman he’s loved for twenty-eight years.Pil stands up and Soo-jin pulls him in for a kiss. As they embrace,
the streetlight flickers above them, giving a final farewell to its
time-traveling duo.Two years later.The gang is at Soo-jin’s studio and gathered around Pil as he holds a
baby boy on his lap. Soo-jin snaps pictures while everyone marvels over
how good Pil is with babies. Then, Jin-sook and Seok-tae arrive, and it
turns out that they are the baby’s parents.When Pil turns the baby over to them, Gu-gil remarks that Pil should
take care of any children he and Soo-jin have. Pil immediately turns to
Soo-jin and offers, “You just give birth to a baby. I’ll handle the
childcare.” Pffft. Dal-soo calls everyone to come take more pictures, and Soo-jin sets
the camera to automatic before jumping in to join Pil in the photo. As
the friends pose, we zoom out to see that someone else is watching the
happy couple: It’s the aliens!!The bug-eyed and black-robed extraterrestrials observe the group from
their spaceship, one of them asking if Pil is the guy who used their
wormhole. Another answers that he gave himself the impossible task of
trying to make his unrequited love come true.The aliens marvel that love is really so important to these humans
and find it interesting that Pil succeeded in his mission. They wonder
if they should take their wormhole back now, but ultimately, they decide
that they should leave it so they can study this “love” phenomenon some
more.An alien asks if there is another suitable candidate, and their spaceship screen zooms in on… Gu-gil. Uh-oh.Later, at five minutes to midnight, Gu-gil is alone at his pool hall.
He calls Jung-ae to ask if she wants to get food together, but Jung-ae
snaps that she’s meeting Dal-soo and hangs up. Gu-gil pouts miserably
and turns to put away a pool cue, but suddenly fades away. Over at the manhole, the telltale street light flashes, and we hear
the aliens laughing as the manhole belches once more. Now, it is hapless
Gu-gil bellowing as he slides down the manhole water slide.Cut to: Pil and Soo-jin as they walk hand in hand and reminisce over
how it’s been a year since they married. Soo-jin hopes that since they
haven’t been summoned, maybe the manhole no longer works.Suddenly, there’s an almighty bellow, and they both flinch to see
Gu-gil barreling down. He runs up and frantically rants that everyone
else thinks he’s crazy, but they’ll believe him, right?Dropping to a whisper, Gu-gil says that every night at midnight, he travels back and forth through time.Gu-gil starts listing how he’s been back to high school and
kindergarten, but his friends both start to smile as he keeps raving.
Laughing as Gu-gil insists that he’s telling the truth, Pil and Soo-jin
both point at him and exclaim, “Manhole!?”COMMENTSYou know, I can hardly believe it I’m saying this, but I actually liked
the ending. I mean, I really enjoyed it. I know, believe me, no one is
more shocked, but it was like everything the show was missing got shoved
into this final hour. Admittedly, it was not a perfect episode, and
there are still a few lingering questions regarding the rules of time
travel that will forever remain a mystery. Still, this was way more than
I was expecting, considering I went into this episode with the same
level of excitement as Soo-jin during her second walk down the aisle.My main concern was how they were going to return Pil to 2017 without
losing everything that happened in 2018. I honestly had no idea how
they were going to pull it off (especially since the manhole was now
blocked again), and I absolutely love their solution: bring Soo-jin back
with him. Granted, this means that future Soo-jin will now forevermore
be stuck one year behind her actual timeline, but I can live with that.Pil’s ability to travel through time had originated with his sincere
wish to be able to tell Soo-jin his feelings. So there’s a kind of
symmetry when Soo-jin’s love confession to him opens the manhole and
takes her back. Then, with them both stuck on either side of time, their
mutual love and Pil’s promise to never leave her was strong enough to
pull him through to her. No, it’s not a flawless solution, and I’m sure
if I poked around I’d find more holes in the theory than Swiss cheese,
but for some reason it felt right, and that’s enough for me.I was worried about what with happen with Sir Crazy if only Pil and
Soo-jin remember what happened, except it turns out that it doesn’t
really matter if no one else knows about Jae-hyun’s psycho tendencies.
By going back, Jae-hyun never started using his serial beatings of
innocents as an outlet for the rage he suppressed during marriage. So
while he wasn’t punished, he didn’t actually commit the crimes either.
I’m a little concerned that he and Crazypants will get back together,
but maybe Young-joo was right when she told Soo-jin that only she could
handle Jae-hyun. I’m just going to hope that they can focus their
particular brands of crazy at each other rather than innocent civilians,
and leave it at that.My other worry when watching the last episode was how Manhole
planned to wrap up our confusing Jung-ae, Dal-soo, and Gu-gil triangle.
I was yet again surprised at their simple answer, which was essentially
to not wrap it up. Sending Gu-gil through the manhole is
brilliant, since it now sheds a whole new light on their past exchanges.
Before, it was just a confusing mash of mixed signals and constant
confusion as to why we even had this subplot. Now, however, it’s the perfect backdrop for another manhole
excursion, this time with Pil and Soo-jin there to give Gu-gil some
pointers. Admittedly it’s not a completely satisfying conclusion, since
instead of answering our remaining questions about these pesky aliens
and their manhole, it sidesteps them entirely by implying that adventure
continues with Gu-gil, and he’ll have to find the answers himself. But while I still don’t have my answers, I’m just so taken with how clever the show was to find an ending that didn’t need
to answer the questions that I don’t even care. After the subpar
plotlines and constantly inconsistent characters, this crafty finale is a
lot like getting outsmarted by a little kid: You can’t get mad because
they are right, and you’re so shocked that you can only tell them “Good job,” while wondering what the heck just happened.I may be in the minority regarding the ending (and it’s entirely
possible that I’m subconsciously trying to convince myself that I like
it as a way to justify sitting through the last fifteen hours of the
show), but right or wrong, I ended the last scene smiling, which is far
more than I had hoped for. So farewell, Pil. It’s been… an interesting
ride, and I hope you and Soo-jin find the happy ever after that you
worked so hard for. But maybe stay away from manholes for a while longer
– you know, just in case.dramabeans

Manhole: Episode 15

Although the end is near, Pil and Soo-jin’s fate as a couple is as
unclear as ever, and their moments of unbridled joy are short-lived. Is
it enough that the two love each other, or do too many missed chances
from the past signify that they were never meant to be? While they face
this conundrum, danger rears its head again, further complicating their
lives. EPISODE 15 RECAPWe open on a freeze frame of Pil and Soo-jin in the middle of the
road. Time unfreezes, and Pil and Soo-jin find themselves back in the
past, mere seconds before the hit-and-run incident. This time, Pil
quickly spots the car speeding toward Soo-jin and pushes her out of
harm’s way.Luckily, both of them avoid impact, and when Soo-jin informs Pil that
Jae-hyun is the driver, the two hop into Pil’s car and drive off,
leaving Jae-hyun looking none too pleased that he lost them. He then
spots Soo-jin’s phone on the ground and picks it up. In the car, Pil and Soo-jin catch their breath, with the latter
reeling from deja vu. She tells Pil that she remembers everything, from
Pil holding onto her while she was dangling off the hospital’s rooftop
to saving Pil from the charging car, only this time, Pil saved her. Pil
sighs and explains that they probably fell down the manhole together,
and a quick rewind to the events leading up to the manhole trip confirms
his belief. Jae-hyun returns home and furiously flings items to the ground. He
glares at the smiling Soo-jin in their wedding photo and wonders if she
was trying to report him. Soo-jin’s phone rings (it’s Jin-sook), so
Jae-hyun picks up and casually informs her that Soo-jin went out,
agreeing to have her call back when she returns. Seok-tae arrives at Jin-sook’s restaurant and asks her why she looks
so concerned, and Jin-sook says that a very distressed Soo-jin came by
earlier. He figures that Soo-jin and Jae-hyun had a marital spat and
assures Jin-sook that they’ll reconcile soon, expressing more concern
for Pil, who’s still not over Soo-jin. Soo-jin and Pil pause at a rest stop, where Soo-jin tries to wrap her
head around the time-travel trip. Pil is incredulous that Jae-hyun was
the hit-and-run driver and that he still has the audacity to stay by
Soo-jin’s side. Shaken but firm, Soo-jin states that Pil was right about
Jae-hyun being the assailant randomly committing violent acts, and
explains that finding the black articles of clothing inside Jae-hyun’s
car trunk prompted her to call Pil for help.Pil asks her if they should report Jae-hyun now, but Soo-jin doesn’t
want to just yet, since she’s too overwhelmed and unable to think
straight. They return to the car, and Pil decides to drive to his uncle’s house
outside of Seoul to see if he’d let them sleep over. Despite the late
hour, his uncle is happy to see Pil and Soo-jin and welcomes them in. Pil carefully dresses the wound on Soo-jin’s ankle, incurred from
when they dodged Jae-hyun’s car. Soo-jin becomes upset when she notices
Pil’s arm injury and tells him to look after himself first, because she
hates that he gets hurt because of her. Touched by her concern, he gazes
tenderly at her. Pil suggests that she call her parents to update them, but that’s
when Soo-jin realizes that she doesn’t have her phone on her and must’ve
left it behind somewhere. She borrows Pil’s and sees that she’s saved
under “My Precious.” Over at a junkyard, Jae-hyun’s setting all the incriminating evidence
ablaze. He silently answers Soo-jin’s phone when a call comes in from
Pil, and hangs up upon hearing Soo-jin’s voice, furious that she’s
spending the night with Pil. Then a guard arrives and reprimands
Jae-hyun for starting a fire, and Jae-hyun retaliates by punching and
kicking the guard repeatedly. Back at Pil’s uncle’s place, Pil hands Soo-jin some bedding.
Suddenly, the lights turn off, frightening Soo-jin and prompting her to
latch onto Pil for security. Turns out that Pil’s uncle is outside,
shutting the power on and off in a playful attempt to bring the couple
together, hahah! When the lights finally do go on, Pil earnestly asks if they should
stay here instead of returning to Seoul, admitting that he doesn’t want
to be apart from her. An awkward beat of silence passes between them before Pil offers to
buy stuff from the convenience store and steps out. And of course, once
he’s outside, Pil immediately regrets saying that, while Soo-jin
dejectedly sits in her room. When Pil returns, he finds Soo-jin already fast asleep, so he covers
her with a blanket and smiles at her calm, sleeping face before turning
off the lights and exiting the room. The next morning, we see that Pil spent the night outside on a bench
sans blanket or pillow. Soo-jin rises first, and when she sees that he
slept out, she covers him with her blanket and grows emotional when she
looks at him. Moments later, Pil stirs awake and spots Soo-jin sitting on a bench
facing the ocean, and takes a seat beside her. Soo-jin turns to him and
wonders why she didn’t heed his warning that Jae-hyun was dangerous,
reasoning that things would’ve turned out differently had she listened.
But Pil is understanding, and says that she had no choice but to trust
the man she chose. Pil explains that he learned that Jae-hyun was trouble through his
time travels, but found it difficult to bring it up to her when she grew
closer to Jae-hyun in every situation; plus, believing him would have
required Soo-jin to accept his time travel stories. Soo-jin listens intently and says that she finally understands how
frustrated Pil must’ve felt. She asks him what transpired during his
travels, and Pil smiles as he answers that many events she never knew
about took place, such as rescuing her from danger and communicating
with her as a spirit. Soo-jin’s surprised to learn that she even asked
him to marry her, but he informs her that every time he entered the
manhole, everything that happened disappeared, and they only grew
further apart. Soo-jin scolds him for thanklessly risking his life for her, but Pil
brightly replies that he was always willing to do it. What frustrated
him the most was the fact that his professions to her were futile even
after they both found out their feelings were mutual, no thanks to the
mechanics of the manhole. But now that they both share the same
memories, Pil tells Soo-jin that he’s happy, adding that the hardships
were ultimately worth it. Soo-jin apologizes for making him suffer, and the two sit in silence
in front of the calm waters. Meanwhile, Jae-hyun’s at home, clearly with
a lot on his mind. Police examine the junkyard where the victim was viciously beaten,
and Pil’s older colleague digs through the fire pit and discovers a
charred broken keychain, which reminds him of Pil’s claim that the
assailant had a broken key accessory. At home, Pil’s parents are dismayed to learn that Pil has been
suspended for hitting Jae-hyun, and that nothing seems to be going right
for their son. Soo-jin’s parents angrily barge in and express how
furious they are at Pil for abducting Soo-jin in front of Jae-hyun.
Naturally, Pil’s parents are alarmed to hear this so they call Pil for
answers, but he doesn’t pick up, and they don’t know where he is.Jin-sook and Seok-tae frantically run to the juice truck and ask if
Jung-ae and Gu-gil know Pil’s whereabouts before filling them in on
Soo-jin’s “abduction” by Pil. They say Soo-jin and Jae-hyun were
supposed to fly out to London today, but that Jae-hyun hasn’t been able
to reach Soo-jin. Gu-gil doesn’t believe this and calls Pil, but once
again, the call goes to voicemail. Back at the beach, Soo-jin chats with Pil’s jovial uncle, who informs
her that Pil is busy cooking up a storm for her. He suggests that
Soo-jin accept Pil’s feelings already, but Soo-jin merely smiles and
asks if she can borrow his camera for the day. Jae-hyun’s feeling antsy at home until Soo-jin’s phone buzzes with a
text notification of a recent credit card purchase she made — she bought
coffee at Pil’s uncle’s shop — which clues him in on where to find her.
He hops in his car, outright ignoring the police officers who came to
investigate him. But luckily, Pil’s older colleague spots a nearby
security camera. In the car, Jae-hyun’s fraught with worry, unsure why the cops showed
up. He worries that Pil reported him, which prompts him to shut off his
phone. Pil shows off his egg frying skills to Soo-jin and offers to serve as
her handsome model when he spots Soo-jin’s camera that she borrowed.
Once lunch is packed, Pil piggybacks her when he notices that she’s
still slightly limping, and she quips that he’s a man now, since she
used to piggyback him in kindergarten. Heh. At the beach, Pil and Soo-jin happily take turns taking photos of
each other. They’re all smiles and laughter as they ride an ATV together
and simply enjoy each other’s company. Pil can’t stop carrying her, and
it’s pretty adorable. But as Pil’s frolicking by the water, Soo-jin watches him through the camera’s viewfinder and fights back tears. They sit down on a beach blanket to eat, and Soo-jin grows serious
when she tells Pil that she has to return to Seoul today because she
can’t stay here forever. Pil asks if she can stay a bit longer, but she
returns the camera to him and says that this will probably be the last
time she’ll be able to spend time with him; she thought about his
time-travel stories and concluded that they were never meant to be,
since he was always suffering or in precarious situations because of
her. She adds that not once during his time travels did things work out
between the two of them, and the fact that she’s already married further
proves her point. Pil protests, reminding her that he only needs her to be happy and
that Jae-hyun is dangerous, but Soo-jin says her reason for not choosing
Pil had nothing to do with Jae-hyun; it was just her decision. She earnestly wishes Pil happiness and hopes he’ll never choose her
whether or not he time travels again, because she can’t bear to see him
suffer on her account anymore. And with that, Soo-jin gets up first,
leaving Pil reeling from her words. Soo-jin cries as she walks along the beach and even removes her
wedding band, dropping it in the sand. Go girl! Then, Jae-hyun arrives
and slowly approaches her, his face contrite, and asks her to hear him
out. Ugh, here we go. They sit on a bench, and Jae-hyun appears pitiful for once as he
apologizes for frightening and disappointing her. He admits to
intentionally accelerating in order to hit Pil with his car, as well as
his inability to control his rage, hence his random acts of violence.
Soo-jin calmly says his actions can’t be overlooked and urges him to
turn himself in and receive treatment, because only then can he get
better. Surprisingly, he agrees to do just that, but he only asks that Soo-jin accompany him. Gah, don’t fall for this, Soo-jin!Pil’s uncle’s riding his bike when he spots Soo-jin sitting next to
Jae-hyun. He later runs into Pil and says that Soo-jin was with a tall
and handsome visitor, and Pil sprints, knowing that Jae-hyun’s around.
But Jae-hyun drives off in his car with Soo-jin in the passenger seat
before Pil can get to them.Over at the police station, Pil’s older colleague watches security
footage from Jae-hyun’s parking garage, which captured Jae-hyun’s face
as he removed his assailant garb. The older colleague remarks that
Jae-hyun is indeed the culprit. They visit Soo-jin’s parents house hoping to speak to Soo-jin about
her husband, but only her parents are home, and they’re alarmed to hear
that their perfect son-in-law is the prime suspect of the random attacks
around the neighborhood. As Jae-hyun’s driving, Soo-jin appears extremely uneasy next to him.
He’s relieved that “his Soo-jin” didn’t share the same room with Pil
last night, which is when Soo-jin notices that he’s driving away from
Seoul. She reminds him that he has to turn himself in, but to her disbelief,
Jae-hyun says he wants to take things slow and spend some quality time
together, since they missed their flight to London. Oy. In his car, Pil searches for Jae-hyun and Soo-jin when his older
colleague calls and instructs him to return to Seoul with Soo-jin so
that she can testify, since Pil was correct in asserting that Jae-hyun
is the culprit. The stakes are even higher now that Soo-jin may be in
danger, and Pil reports that Jae-hyun is on the run with Soo-jin, adding
that he’ll find them.Pil hangs up when he spots Jae-hyun’s car in front of him, but
Jae-hyun sees Pil as well, and accelerates. Pil speeds up as well, but a
red light stymies the chase, and Pil loses him. Having stopped at a house, Jae-hyun happily cooks steak for Soo-jin
while she sits at the table, her face screaming dread. She pleads with
him to return to Seoul now and turn himself in. Jae-hyun’s eyes turn steely, and he wonders if she hates being around
him that much. But then he lightens up and sits her back down in her
chair, reminding her that it’s been a while since they spent time alone
like this. Soo-jin’s clearly distressed, so while Jae-hyun has his back turned
to her as he’s hovering by the stove, she grabs her phone from
Jae-hyun’s jacket and turns it on. Immediately, an incoming call from
Pil appears and she answers it without saying anything, making sure it
set it down on her chair so that Pil can hear what’s going on. Once dinner’s ready, Jae-hyun joins Soo-jin at the table, and Soo-jin
calmly engages Jae-hyun in a conversation about his parents’ summer
house that’s located by Sky Lake (the one they’re currently in). Pil
listens attentively, which gives him enough information to locate the
house.After identifying Jae-hyun’s car in the driveway, Pil carefully nears
the house. Meanwhile, Jae-hyun asks Soo-jin if they should leave Korea.
He grabs her hands and says that he has to go to jail if he turns
himself in, which means that Soo-jin will be lonely. And so, he proposes
that they live by themselves in some remote place.Jae-hyun insists that all he needs is her, and Soo-jin tries to break
from his grasp, but he doesn’t let up. Just then, Pil spots Soo-jin
through the window, and she sees him, too. He quietly motions for her to
stay calm, but Jae-hyun follows Soo-jin’s gaze and wonders if
something’s outside. COMMENTSWell, that’s an uninspired way to end the penultimate episode!For every episode of Manhole, I never knew what to expect,
because I had no idea where the show was heading. And initially, that
feeling of not knowing did heighten my anticipation until it quickly
became very clear that this poorly conceived story lacked as much
direction as Pil’s adult life. Did you notice the sudden disappearance
of titles and the capricious epilogues? At the end of every episode, I was always so dissatisfied by what
“happened” — if anything of worth actually did happen — and was just
befuddled by how little substance and story there was. I think the
actors, for the most part, tried their best, but it’s hard to elevate a
story that’s so light on, well, story. The element of time travel is a
handy vehicle for character growth if utilized properly, but for Manhole,
I wondered what the purpose was for many of Pil’s manhole trips,
especially if everything reset at the stroke of midnight. Has Pil
matured? I think so — either that, or exhaustion from too many
disappointing trips to the past finally hit him, and he consequently
lost all that frenetic energy. If I thought the characters were being dim last week, they were even
dimmer in this episode. I can’t believe Pil’s friends — save for maybe
Gu-gil, who at least had doubts — actually believed that Pil had
“abducted” Soo-jin. They’ve known Pil for how long? Sure, his
time-traveling manhole talk didn’t do him any favors, but they should
know that at the very least, Pil is an upstanding guy and wouldn’t do
such a thing. Admittedly, I did like Soo-jin’s line about how Pil’s time travel
trips revealed that the two simply weren’t meant to be. It did for a
split second make me wonder if the two would ultimately go their
separate ways, but then Soo-jin decided to hop into Jae-hyun’s car
against her better judgment, ignore all the red flags yet again, and
endanger herself. Again. I got the impression that the show wanted to
include one last moment of glory for Pil so that he could rescue Soo-jin
from big bad Jae-hyun and then, at the very, very, end, throw in a
happily ever after for SooPil.Despite how cute and sweet the beach scenes were with Pil and Soo-jin
having the time of their lives, I couldn’t fully comprehend how they
could be having that much fun while volatile, psycho stalker Jae-hyun
was still out and about. The fact that they decided to delay reporting
Jae-hyun boggles my mind, especially when Pil readily agreed with
Soo-jin’s suggestion to do so. Priorities, people! Safety over beach
frolicking!I’m not sure if the finale will take place in the current timeline
which is the year 2018, but I think if SooPil were to happen, it would
only make sense in 2018, despite it being the future. If the manhole
took Pil back to the present (remember the present?), then Soo-jin would
still be engaged to Jae-hyun and ready to wed him, and she definitely
wouldn’t have any shared memories with Pil from the manhole trips. I
hope that at the very least, the finale is fun, because most of Manhole was such a drag. Why not throw in one last manhole belch just for kicks? dramabeans***Manhole staff IG update[맨홀 스태프 IG (170929)]
여지껏 한 작품중에서 제일 현장분위기 좋았던 작품~그만큼 시청률이 많이 속상했음 ㅠㅠ
대본땜에 고생한 연기자들 다들 앞으로 좋은작품 만나서 훨훨 날길~
#김재중#ジェジュン#manholeBest ever vibe at filming~ So ratings r more heartbreaking Actors suffered much due to script Fly in better drama next time via crystalmoon0213***Kim Jaejoong attends a fashion show in Paris (as a celeb photographer)Jaejoong at the Yohji Yamamoto show #PFW photo : @NOWFASHION

#맨홀 team members told #김재중 over and over they were impressed by waves of countless supports from fans JJ felt so proud and was energized Seoul Fanmeeting Dresscode: Halloween costume party #김재중 Will invite and pay for makeup artists for fans himselfvia crystalmoon0213

JYJ’s Kim Jaejoong
greeted fans through a V App broadcast on September 28 to talk about
his upcoming Seoul fan meeting, as well as other future plans.When he was asked about his plans after KBS’s “Manhole” comes to an end, Kim Jaejoong said, “I’m going to be embarking on a fan meeting tour in Asia.
For that, I’ll be going to Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the
Philippines. I’ll also be going to China, Japan, and the U.S., but I
can’t tell you what for. But I think I’ll be greeting my Japanese fans
first.”He continued to laugh as he added, “People want to know what my next
project will be, and whether it will be a drama or new music, but I’m
not even going to give you 1 percent of a spoiler. If a good project
comes, I’ll do it, if not, I won’t.”Though he jokingly said, “I was always working before I enlisted, and
I went straight back to work the day after I was discharged. When will I
get to rest?” Kim Jaejoong’s love for his fans came through as he
added, “To be honest, I wasn’t really working, I was going to see all of
you. I’m going to keep being active, what else can I do when you guys
keep saying you want to see me?”Kim Jaejoong also teased a fun event that he prepared for fans for
his October Seoul fan meeting as he said, “Our fan meeting is on October
29, and Halloween is on October 31. So let’s set our concept as
‘Halloween.’ I’ll dress up, and I’ll even use my own money to rent out a
Halloween costume truck and park it outside the fan meeting venue so
fans can have fun and dress up all they want.”Kim Jaejoong’s drama “Manhole” ended on September 28. From October,
he will embark on his Asia fan meeting tour, beginning in Seoul on
October 29.Source (1)Soompi***Manhole Wrap Up Party

Jaejoong says goodbye to Bong Pil with the finale of 'Manhole' approaching

JYJ's Jaejoong bid farewell to his character Bong Pil, his drama 'Manhole', and viewers who kept up with 'Manhole' for the past 15 episodes.KBS2's
'Manhole' will air its finale episode on September 28 at 10PM KST. Just
ahead of the finale, Jaejoong relayed through his label, "I want to
thank those who cherished and loved Bong Pil of 'Manhole'. I was able to
film brimming with energy thanks to those in Korea and overseas who
cheered Pil on. This production was truly a lone battle. It will remain
in my memories for a long time because of how difficult it was. Please
anticipate whether or not Pil, who has loved Soojin for 28 years, will
be able to protect her happiness, and whether or not Pil's love for
Soojin will reach her so that they can have a happy future."allkpop

JYJ Member Kim Junsu’s Grandmother Passes Away

It was reported earlier that MOMOLAND’s Taeha will not be taking part in MU:CON Seoul 2017
due to her grandmother passing away. It has been further announced
that JYJ’s Kim Junsu, Taeha’s cousin, will also be taking
the time to mourn with his family.A source from C-JeS Entertainment stated, “Kim Junsu’s grandmother
passed away on September 26. He will be spending the night at her wake.”The agency explained that Kim Junsu, who’s currently fulfilling
his mandatory military service, has been granted permission to stay out
overnight. The funeral procession will take place on September 28.We offer our sincerest condolences to Kim Junsu, Taeha, and their family.Source (1)Soompi

*** JJ IG UpdateAwww too funny...#Jaejoong is #life! https://instagram.com/p/BZh02X5BTsU/[IG] What is this? kkkk I’m trying this for the first time ...What the heck is this??? kkkk[IG] I received in now - in red[IG] “What is this... what’s the matter? oh!” Like this? Translations by crystalmoon0213